What is the song "Penny Royal Tea" by Nirvana about?

The herb Pennyroyal is sometimes used as an abortifacient. An alternate explanation is that the song is just what it seems about at face value: a person "sitting and drinking pennyroyal tea." In [Kurt] Cobain's Journals, there is an entry where he explains (as much as possible for someone who said that his songs did not have a single meaning) the tracks on In Utero. The explanation simply reads: "herbal abortive... it doesn't work, you hippie."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennyroyal

For years, Kurt was plagued by chronic stomach problems. Here he complains about them, non-stop.

It's been three weeks and the stomach pains are getting worse. At first I thought it was the raunchy Mexican food I ate at Tortilla Flats but now I'm thinking it's something else. I'm now up to a box of Malox a day. I went to the doctor and he said I should take some pain killers. I hate those things. I know I'll get addicted. I get addicted to everything. I just weaned myself off of Fruity Pebbles. That was a nightmare.

In "Pennyroyal Tea", Cobain tells of some methods he used to overcome stomach discomfort:

I'm on warm milk and laxatives
Cherry-flavored antacids
Sit and drink Pennyroyal Tea
Distill the life that's inside of me
Sit and drink Pennyroyal Tea
I'm anemic royalty

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